Simonides of Ceos: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Ancient Greek lyric poet (c. 556–468 BC)}}

'''Simonides of Ceos''' ({{IPAc-en|s|aɪ|ˈ|m|ɒ|n|ɪ|ˌ|d|iː|z}}; {{lang-langx|grc-gre|Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος}}; c. 556–468556 – 468&nbsp;BC) was a [[Greek lyric poet]], born atin [[Ioulis]] on [[Kea (island)|Ceos]]. The scholars of [[Hellenistic]] [[Alexandria]] included him in the canonical list of the [[nine lyric poets]] esteemed by them as worthy of critical study. Included on this list waswere [[Bacchylides]], his nephew, and [[Pindar]], reputedly a bitter rival, both of whom benefited from his innovative approach to lyric poetry. Simonides, however, was more involved than either in the major events and with the personalities of their times.<ref>John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers (1992), page 3</ref>

[[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]], writing in the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment era]], referred to him as "the Greek [[Voltaire]]."<ref>{{cite book |author=G. E. Lessing |author-link=Gotthold Ephraim Lessing |title=Laocoon; Or The Limits of Poetry and Painting |publisher=J. Ridgway & Sons |year=1836 |pages=xvi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qR4GAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR16 |via=Google books}}</ref> His general renown owes much to traditional accounts of his colourful life, as one of the wisest of men; as a greedy miser; as an inventor of a system of [[mnemonic]]s; and also the inventor of some letters of the [[History of the Greek alphabet|Greek alphabet]] ({{lang|grc|ω, η, ξ, ψ}}).<ref>David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), pages 380-381</ref> Such accounts include fanciful elements, yet he had a real influence on the sophistic enlightenment of the [[Classical Greece|Classical era]].<ref>Charles Segal, ''Choral lyric in the fifth century'', 'The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature' (1985), [[P. E. Easterling]] & B.[[Bernard Knox]] (eds), pages 223, 226</ref> His fame as a poet rests largely on his ability to present basic human situations with affecting simplicity.<ref name="Charles Segal 1985 page 225"/> In the words of the Roman rhetorician [[Quintilian]] (55–10035–100 AD):

Tell them in LacedaimonLacedaemon, passer-by

That here, obedient to their word, we lie,|attr2=Translated by [[F. L. Lucas]]<br>as an English [[heroic couplet]]}}

Today only glimpses of his poetry remain, either in the form of [[papyrus]] fragments or quotations by ancient literary figures, yet new fragments continue to be unearthed by archaeologists at [[Oxyrhynchus]], a city and archaeological site in [[Egypt]] that has yielded papyrus fragments from over a century of excavations. He is included in narratives as diverse as [[Mary Renault]]'s modern [[historical novel]] ''The Praise Singer'' (where he is the narrator and main character), [[Plato]]'s ''[[Protagoras (dialogue)|Protagoras]]'' (where he is a topic of conversation), and some verses in [[Callimachus]]' ''[[Aetia (Callimachus)|Aetia]]'' (where he is portrayed as a ghost complaining about the desecration of his own tomb in [[Agrigento|Acragas]]).<ref>Callimachus ''fr.'' 64. 1-14, cited by D. A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library, pages 344-6</ref>

Few clear facts about Simonides' life have come down to modern times in spite of his fame and influence. Ancient sources are uncertain even about the date of his birth. According to the Byzantine encyclopaedia, [[Suda]]: "He was born in the 56th&nbsp;Olympiad (556/552&nbsp;BC) or according to some writers in the 62nd (532/528 BC) and he survived until the 78th (468/464 BC), having lived eighty-nine years."<ref>''Suda'', Simonides (1st notice), translated by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 331</ref> Simonides was popularly accredited with the invention of four letters of the revised alphabet and, as the author of inscriptions, he was the first major poet who composed verses to be read rather than recited.<ref name="Charles Segal 1985 page 225">Charles Segal, ''Choral lyric in the fifth century'', 'The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature' (1985), P. Easterling and B. Knox (eds), page 225</ref> Coincidentally he also composed a [[dithyramb]] on the subject of Perseus that is now one of the largest fragments of his extant verses.<ref>Fr.543, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 437–438</ref>

Modern scholars generally accept 556-468&nbsp;BC foras the span of his life in spite of some awkward consequences—for example it would make him about fifty years older than his nephew Bacchylides and still very active internationally at about 80&nbsp;years of age. Other ancient sources also have awkward consequences. For example, according to an entry in the [[Parian Marble]], Simonides died in 468/467&nbsp;BC at the age of ninety yet, in another entry, it lists a victory by his grandfather in a poetry competition in Athens in 489/488&nbsp;BC — this grandfather must have been over a hundred years old at that time if the birth dates for Simonides are correct. The grandfather's name, as recorded by the Parian Marble, was also Simonides, and it has been argued by some scholars that the earliest references to Simonides in ancient sources might in fact be references to this grandfather. However, the Parian Marble is known to be unreliable and possibly it was not even the grandfather but a grandson that won the aforementioned victory in Athens.<ref>John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Balchazy-Caducci Publishers (1992), pages 26, 67-68</ref> According to the Suda, this grandson was yet another [[Simonides the genealogist|Simonides]] and he was the author of books on genealogy.<ref>''Suda'', Simonides (4th notice), cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 335</ref>

Among the most colourful of his "ignorant" patrons was the head of the Scopadae clan, named Scopas. Fond of drinking, convivial company and vain displays of wealth, this aristocrat's proud and capricious dealings with Simonides are demonstrated in a traditional account related by [[Cicero]]<ref>Cicero, ''de orat.'' 2.86.351-3, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 375</ref> and [[Quintilian]],<ref>Quintilian, ''Inst.'' 11.2.11-16, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 377</ref> according to which the poet was commissioned to write a victory ode for a boxer. Simonides embellished his ode with so many references to the twins [[Castor and Pollux]] (heroic archetypes of the boxer) that Scopas told him to collect half the commissioned fee from them — he would only pay the other half.<ref>John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Caducci Publishers (1992), pages 117-24</ref> Simonides however ended up getting much more from the mythical twins than just a fee:; Hehe owed them his very life (see [[Simonides#Miraculous escapes|Miraculous escapes]]). According to this story he was called out of the feast hall to see two visitors who had arrived and were asking for him – presumably Castor and Pollux. As soon as he left the hall, it collapsed, killing everyone within. These events were said to have inspired him to develop a system of mnemonics based on images and places called the [[method of loci]]. The method of loci is one component of the [[Artart of memory]].

The last years of the poet's life were spent in Sicily, where he became a friend and confidant of Hieron of Syracuse. According to a [[scholia]]st on Pindar, he once acted as peace-maker between Hieron and another Sicilian tyrant, [[Theron of Acragas]], thus ending a war between them.<ref>Scholiast on Pindar, ''Ol.'' 2.29d, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 345</ref> Scholiasts are the only authority for stories about the rivalry between Simonides and Pindar at the court of Hieron, traditionally used to explain some of the meanings in Pindar's victory odes<ref>Geoffrey S. Conway, ''The Odes of Pindar'', John Dent and Sons (1972), pages 10, 88-89</ref> (see the articles on [[Bacchylides]] and [[Pindar]]). If the stories of rivalry are true, it may be surmised that Simonides's experiences at the courts of the tyrants, Hipparchus and Scopas, gave him a competitive edge over the proud Pindar and enabled him to promote the career of his nephew, Bacchylides, at Pindar's expense.<ref>Jebb, ''Bacchylides: the poems and fragments'', Cambridge University Press (1905), pages 12-26</ref> However, Pindar scholiasts are generally considered unreliable,<ref>Ian Rutherford, ''Pindar's Paeans'', Oxford University Press (2001), pages 321-322</ref> and there is no reason to accept their account.<ref>D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric IV: Bacchylides, Corinna and Others'', Loeb Classical Library (1992), page 6</ref> The Hellenistic poet [[Callimachus]] revealed in one of his poems that Simonides was buried outside [[Agrigento|Acragas]], and that his tombstone was later misused in the construction of a tower.<ref>Callim. fr.64.1-14, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), pages 345-346</ref>

The [[Suda]] credits Simonides with inventing "the third note of the lyre" (which is known to be wrong since the lyre had seven strings from the 7th&nbsp;century BC), and four letters of the Greek alphabet.<ref>Suda Σ&nbsp;439, cited, translated and annotated by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', page 330.</ref> Whatever the validity of such claims, a creative and original turn of mind is demonstrated in his poetry as he likely invented the genre of the victory ode<ref>D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 379</ref> and he gave persuasive expression to a new set of ethical standards (see [[Simonides#Ethics|Ethics]]).

Simonides composed verses almost entirely for public performances and inscriptions, unlike previous lyric poets such as [[Sappho]] and [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]], who composed more intimate verses to entertain friends—"With Simonides the age of individualism in lyric poetry has passed."<ref>Weir Smith, quoted by David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 379</ref> Or so it seemed to modern scholars until the recent discovery of papyrus ''P.Oxy.''&nbsp;3965<ref>{{cite book |editor-first1=Deborah |editor-last1=Boedeker |editor-first2=David |editor-last2=Sider |title=The New Simonides: Contexts of praise and desire |location=New York; Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press - USA |year=2001}}</ref> in which Simonides is glimpsed in a [[Symposium|sympotic context]], speaking for example as an old man rejuvenated in the company of his homo-erotic lover, couched on a bed of flowers.<ref>fragment&nbsp;22, cited by Michael W. Haslam, ''Bryn Mawr Classical Review'', reviewing M.L. West's ''Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati, vol. II'', [https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1993/04.02.14.html online copy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811020759/https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1993/04.02.14.html |date=2011-08-11 }}</ref> Some of the short passages identified by ancient or modern authors as epigrams may also have been performed at symposia. Very little of his poetry survives today but enough is recorded on papyrus fragments and in quotes by ancient commentators for many conclusions to be drawn at least ''tentatively'' (nobody knows if and when the sands of Egypt will reveal further discoveries).

Simonides wrote a wide range of choral lyrics with an [[Ionic Greek|Ionian]] flavour and elegiac verses in [[Doric Greek|Doric]] idioms. He is generally credited with inventing a new type of choral lyric, the [[encomium]], in particular popularizingpopularising a form of it, the [[Epinikion|victory ode]]. These were extensions of the [[hymn]], which previous generations of poets had dedicated only to gods and heroes:

Simonides was the first to establish the choral [[dirge]] as a recognized form of lyric poetry,<ref>{{cite book |author=Jebb, R.C. |author-link=Richard Claverhouse Jebb |title=Bacchylides: The poems and fragments |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1905 |page=40 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bacchylidespoem00jebbgoog#page/n9/mode/1up |via=Google books}}</ref> his aptitude for it being testified, for example, by Quintillian (see quote in the Introduction), [[Horace]] ("''Ceae ... munera neniae''"),<ref>Horace, ''Carm.'' 2.1.38, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 359</ref> [[Catullus]] ("''maestius lacrimis Simonideis''")<ref>Catullus, 38.8, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 357</ref> and [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], where he says:

Simonides has long been known to have written epitaphs for those who died in the Persian Wars and this has resulted in many pithy verses being misattributedmis-attributed to him "...&nbsp;as wise saws to Confucius or musical anecdotes to [[Thomas Beecham|Beecham]]."<ref>David Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 380</ref> Modern scholars generally consider only one of the attributed [[epigram]]s to be unquestionably authentic (an inscription for the seer Megistius quoted by [[Herodotus]]),<ref>Herodotus, 7.228.3-4, cited by John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers (1992), page 19</ref> which places in doubt even some of the most famous examples, such as the one to the Spartans at Thermopylae, quoted in the introduction. He composed longer pieces on a Persian War theme, including ''Dirge for the Fallen at Thermopylae'', ''Battle at [[Battle of Artemisium|Artemisium]]'' and ''Battle at [[Battle of Salamis|Salamis]]'' but their genres are not clear from the fragmentary remains - the first was labelled by [[Diodorus Siculus]] as an ''encomium'' but it was probably a hymn<ref>Diodorus Siculus, 11.11.6, cited by David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 383</ref> and the second was characterizedcharacterised in the Suda as elegiac yet [[Priscian]], in a comment on prosody, indicated that it was composed in lyric meter.<ref>Suda Σ&nbsp;439, Priscian ''de metr. Ter.'' 24, cited and annotated by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 425</ref> Substantial fragments of a recently discovered poem, describing the run-up to the [[Battle of Plataea]] and comparing [[Pausanias (general)|Pausanias]] to [[Achilles]], show that he actually did compose narrative accounts in elegiac meter.<ref>Deborah Boedeker and David Sider (eds.), ''The New Simonides: Contexts of Praise and Desire'' (New York and Oxford: OUP-USA, 2001)</ref> Simonides also wrote ''[[Paean]]s'' and ''Prayers/Curses'' ({{lang|grc|κατευχαί}})<ref>Scholiasts on Homer and Plutarch, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 429-431</ref> and possibly in some genres where no record of his work survives.<ref>Jebb, ''Bacchylides: The poems and fragments'', Cambridge University Press (1905), page 43</ref>

The only decorative word is 'long-winged' ({{lang|grc|τανυπτέρυγος}}), used to denote a [[dragonfly]], and it emerges from the generalizedgeneralised meanings of the passage as an 'objective correlative' for the fragility of the human condition.<ref>Charles Segal, 'Choral lyric in the fifth century', P. Easterling and B. Knox (ed.s), ''The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature'', Cambridge University Press (1985), page 226</ref> The rhythm evokes the movement of the dragonfly and the mutability of human fortunes.<ref>David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 383</ref>

Simonides championed a tolerant, humanistic outlook that celebrated ordinary goodness, and recognized the immense pressures that life places on human beings.<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles |last=Segal |chapter=Choral Lyric in the Fifth Century |editor1=Easterling, P. |editor2=Knox, B. |series=The Cambridge History of Classical Literature |title=Greek Literature |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1985 |page=244}}</ref> This attitude is evident in the following poem of Simonides (fr.&nbsp;542){{Opinion|date=February 2020}},<ref name=Beresford/> quoted in Plato's dialogue, the [[Protagoras (dialogue)|Protagoras]], and reconstructed here according to a recent interpretation, making it the only lyric poem of Simonides that survives intact:<ref name=Beresford>{{cite journal |title=Nobody's Perfect: A new text and interpretation of Simonides PMG&nbsp;542 |journal=Classical Philology |volume=103 |issue=3 |year=2008 |pages=237–256|doi=10.1086/596516 |last1=Beresford |first1=Adam |s2cid=162250223 }}{{full citation|missing translator/modern author's name|date=July 2019}}</ref><ref group=lower-alpha>{{poemquote|

::ἄνδρ' ἀγαθὸν μὲν ἀλαθέως γενέσθαι &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; στρ.&nbsp;'''α'''

::χαλεπὸν, χερσίν τε καὶ ποσὶ καὶ νόωι

:::: τετράγωνον, ἄνευ ψόγου τετυγμένον·

::θεὸς ἂν μόνος τοῦτ' ἔχοι γέρας‧ ἄνδρα δ' οὐκ

:::: ἔστι μὴ οὐ κακὸν ἔμμεναι,<br/>

::ὃν ἀμήχανος συμφορὰ καθέληι·

::πράξας γὰρ εὖ πᾶς ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός,

::κακὸς δ' εἰ κακῶς, <οὓς

::δ’δ' οἱ θεοὶ φιλέωσιν

::πλεῖστον, εἰσ’εἰσ' ἄριστοι.><br/>

::οὐδ᾽ ἐμοὶ ἐμμελέως τὸ Πιττάκειον &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; στρ.&nbsp;'''β'''

::νέμεται, καίτοι σοφοῦ παρὰ φωτὸς εἰ-

:::: ρημένον· χαλεπὸν φάτ' ἐσθλὸν ἔμμεναι.

::<ἐμοὶ ἀρκέει> μητ' <ἐὼν> ἀπάλαμνος εἰ-

:::: δώς τ' ὀνησίπολιν δίκαν,<br/>

::ὑγιὴς ἀνήρ· οὐ<δὲ μή νιν> ἐγώ

::μωμήσομαι· τῶν γὰρ ἠλιθίων

::ἀπείρων γενέθλα.

::πάντα τοι καλά, τοῖσίν

::τ' αἰσχρὰ μὴ μέμεικται.<br/>

::τοὔνεκεν οὔ ποτ' ἐγὼ τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; στρ.&nbsp;'''γ'''

::δυνατὸν διζήμενος κενεὰν ἐς ἄ-

:::: πρακτον ἐλπίδα μοῖραν αἰῶνος βαλέω,

::πανάμωμον ἄνθρωπον, εὐρυεδέος ὅσοι

:::: καρπὸν αἰνύμεθα χθονός·<br/>

::ἐπὶ δ' ὔμμιν εὑρὼν ἀπαγγελέω.

::πάντας δ' ἐπαίνημι καὶ φιλέω,

::ἑκὼν ὅστις ἔρδηι

::μηδὲν αἰσχρόν· ἀνάγκαι

::δ' οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται.<br/> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; — PMG 542 }}

{{poemquotequote|

* {{cite web |url=https://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/VExhibition/3965.htm |title=Simonides' ''Elegies'': second century AD |access-date=2004-12-03 |archive-date=2007-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205030916/https://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/VExhibition/3965.htm |url-status=dead }}

* {{cite web |url=https://www.scottmanning.com/content/warpath-wednesday-go-tell-the-spartans/ |title=Go tell the Spartans |date=6 April 2016 |quote=review various uses of Simonides' Thermopylae epitaph}}